Multiple mixing faucet



April 1954 J. HUDSON ET AL 2,675,018

' MULTIPLE MIXING FAUCET Filed Oct. 14, 1947 1 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1FEE-.17

JNVENTOR. Jag/77.9: L Hudson y P/i///,'o 5 5600457 QWWK W April 13, 1954J. L. HUDSON ET AL 2,675,018

MULTIPLE MIXING FAUCET Filed Oct. 14, 194? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO&James L. HUG 60f? y Phi/ '0 fi fiender RTTGRNE Y3 Patented Apr. 13, 1954MULTIPLE MIXING FAUCET James L. Hudson, Detroit, and Philip F. Bender, 4Ferndale, Mich., assignors to Kenneth Hudson Foundation Inc., Detroit,Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 14, 1947, SerialNo. 779,718

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to multiple mixing faucets. That is, a faucetwhich is capable of mixing two or more syrups with soda water anddispensing each mixture separately and also is capable of dispensing thecarbonated water or soda water separately. This is not broadly new, butwe believe that our mixing faucet is the first one that so accomplishesthis mixing so that there is no taint of one mixture carried over intothe other mixture. A feature of this mixing faucet is that it is sodesigned and constructed that after the mixture of syrup and soda waterfrom one syrup line has been completed no drops of the syrup will issuefrom the syrup pipe to mix with the next draft and thereby objectionablyalter the flavor of the next mixture. Furthermore, the syrup dischargeis kept completely away from the wall of the faucet at the discharge endso that one syrup cannot be mixed with the other.

In the present day bars it is customary to have a line of faucets withbeer taps at each end of the coil box or draft station and a soda watertap and a water tap in the intermediate positions. placed in the line offaucets in place of the usual soda water tap. It Will furnish thecustomary soda water and by throwing the handle to either the left orthe right will dispense a mixture of different syrups with soda water.away with the necessity of the bar owners using bottled soft drinks toprovide soft drinks as chasers with whiskey. The customary chasers usedwith whiskey are approximately 95% cola soft drinks, ginger ale, sodawater and beer. The soda and beer are provided from the taps oi the linedispensing faucets now in common use, but if cola or ginger ale arecalled for the bartender must open and dispense a small bottle of thesoft drink. By employing our multiple mixing faucet in place of the sodafaucet now in use the bartender, by a simple manipulation of the faucethandle can provide either a ginger ale syrup and soda mixture or a colasyrup and soda mixture, or can draw plain soda Water. The mix tures willnot contaminate each other by reason of dripping from the syrup conduitsor what may be left on the internal Wall of the faucet.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. .l is a longitudinal section through my This will do My mixingfaucet or dispenser can be 1..

Fig. 5 is a sectionon' the line 5-5 of Fig. Fig. 6 is a section onthe'line 6-6 oi Fig. Fig. 7 is a view on the line !---1 of Fig. i. Fig;8 is a section on the line li--8 of Fig. 1. l designates the soda waterconduit, 'hich is'in the middle; 2 designates a syrup conduit which may,for example, be ginger ale syrup; and 3 designates a third conduit whichmay be a cola syrup conduit. These syrup conduits are connected withcontainers not shown in which is contained a syrup which is underpressure. The soda water conduit which can be connected with acarbonating apparatus not shown in which;

Water is mixed with carbon dioxide gas and is kept under a relativelyhigh pressure, say 125 pounds to the square inch. A suitable carbonating apparatus is described in my application Serial Number 579,762,filed February 26, 1945, The application re-' ferred to shows a suitablecarbonating apparanow Patent No. 2,431,936.

tus, but any other-carbonating apparatus can be used. A fixture "4 canbe located in the wall 5.

of the so called coil box used in the conventional bar. This fixture hason the outside a threaded nipple 6 and on the inside end passing throughthe coil box wall an externally threaded pipe section '5. this threadedpipe section to draw the annulus 9 up against the outside wall of thecoil box.

This fixture serves as a casing for the three con-- duits i, 2, and3which have their outer ends fastened into the body ill of the faucet.The position of the outer ends of these conduits is best shown in Fig.4. Each leads into a bushing or valve casing which is located ina'vertical passageway in the 'body of the faucet. Each passageway ispro-' vided with a valve casing or bushing. This valve casing isdesignated by a reference character corresponding to the conduit thatleads into the casing, but with a charactera added so that the referencecharacters do, 20;, and 3a indicate the valve casings. The lower end ofeach valvecasing is enlarged to provide-heads 11);"21), and 3b, on eachvalve casing head is screwed a cap namely lc, 2c, and 3c. The valvestems are located in the bushing, and designated Id, 2d, and 3d.

casing caps secure tubes to thevalve casing heads. The'center tubedesi'gnate'd lg, is a tube A nut 8 maybe screwed onto These sleevesaregiven a of larger diameter than the syrup dispensing tubes 2g, and 3g,which are of a small diameter that may be classed as a capillary. I findthat .093 I. D. is a suitable capillary tube.

The lower end of the body it) has an annular flange II on to which canbe removably fitted a large nozzlecover 5]. At the topoflthe faucet bodywe. lever i2 is secured by a ball and socket joint 13. The ball !3 isclamped in place by the plate M which is secured to the body by screw[5. the upper end. The ball l3 has a threaded stem I8 which screws intothe stem I! of the lever and holds a tri-lug rocking table l9 betweenthe The lugs are designated -Ih, 2h, and

two stems. 3h. They are arranged to engage the actuating heads of thevalve stems, to wit, Ii, vit; 31; when the rocking table is rocked. Apair of coil springs and 2! (Fig. 6) connect a pin on the end of bolt [5with two pins 22: and 23 on the rocking table I9. This tends tocentralizeTthe tablet-and the lever stem and keep it in: theuprightrearcentral position as shownrin'Fig: '7 in full lines.- The cap 24 can. befitted'overthe top of the faucet body and secured thereto by" fasteningscrews 25. Preferably this" screw engages. in: a vertical slot in theflange 26 atthe top of the body for'properly positioning the cap and itstriangular opening The ca 24 can beeasily removed after handle l6 hasbeen unscrewed from the threaded stem l8 of' the ball and screw removed;Cap 24 is provided with a triangle opening 21' (see Fig; 7) forthe stemll. Thetriangular opening forms a guide for the movements of the handleIS in the dispensing'operation which will now'be described.

When handle I 6 is brought immediately'forward to the center positionshown in dotted lines inFig. 7'lug lh on the table I9 is tipped down toengage-theactuatinghead ii of the valve stem:

This pushes down the valve stem against the pressure of the valvespring. These springs are not given reference charactersas the largenumher already applied to each valve rather confuses the drawings. downvalve head' lb andopens the conduit of soda water toth'e'dispensing'tube lg. The faucet now dispenses pure soda water. Ifthe handle is tilted forward but to the right two lugs I71. and 3h willcome in contact with the corresponding 'actuating valve stem heads iiand 3i.

If the handle is tilted forwardbut to the left the actuating lugs iiiand zh will' come in con tact with the corresponding actuating heads Iiand'Zz'. Hence, in each of the last two cases the faucet will dispense amixture of one or the other of the syrups and soda water. Hence, the

bartender can dispense either pure soda water by a forwardjerk, or sodawater and cola syrup by a movement forward andto one'side orjslodawaterand ginger ale'syrupby a: movement for-- ward and" to the other side. Ofcourse; any

other two syrups might besubstituted for" ginger and cola syrups.

The capillary tubes 29 and 39 are so located and their ends are sodirected (see Figs. 2 and 5) that they discharge the syrup directly inthe central'stream which is afforded b'y'means of the nozzle lg for thecarbonated water. Compare Figs: 1 and 2. The result is that none of thesyrup gets on to the inside wallof the faucet or what Icall the. nozzle"cover. Consequently, one mixture of syrup and soda water cannotcontaminate. the other mixture of soda water and syrup. So far asIknowthe prior art mixers- The lever has a handle 16 screwed on.

This movement pushes v 1 has been designed to prevent the: syrup pipesfrom dripping, which will also contaminate the next mixture drawnthrough the faucet. One may also alter the pressure in the syrupcontainers to provide the correct mixture. Or a variable restriction maybe used in the form of a needle valve.

The capillary tubes, by reason of the capillary action tend to preventthe syrup left therein dropping out after the valve is closed. Thedropping of syrup is very undesirable because one syrup may drop into a.glass of pure soda water'or aglass of the other syrup mixture and impairthe taste or flavor of the other syrup mixture and impair, the taste orflavor of. the contents of the next glass. By using soft gaskets on thevalve heads'I get about .OOS-moVement'aftT er'the'flow of the syrup hasbeen closed ofi. This will create a perfect seal and a'slight vacuum orslight rarification of the valve chamber to the rear of the capillary,and, consequently, tend to pull the contents of the capillary upwardlyand hence, keep it from droppingout the lower end of the tube. Hence,the :good. seal and'this' slight vacuum helps to prevent the drippingofsyrup from these capillary tubes. The rubber sealing rings 40 or 0 ringsseals off the soda water and. the syrups from thevalve-springs. Fig. 3.The valves close against the pressure and this prevents hammering.

The vacuum eifect and thegood sealon the valves, serves to assure acleanvalve-which will not gum up because the syrup left in the line doesnot come in contact with the atmosphere.

The mixing faucet described is. an effective mixer of soda. water andsoft drink'syrups: and at the'same time can be used as a pure soda waterdispenser; It can be placed. in the usual line of. taps. behind the. barto'take theplaceof' the. soda water faucet, and do away with thenecessity of using bottled soft drinks of the usual kind used forchasers;

We claim:

1. In a mixing and dispensing faucet the combination of a body, aplurality of conduits lead.- ing into the body and including in eachconduit a valve casing and a spring closed valve, a nozzle cover at thelower end of said body into which the several conduits discharge,- butwith streams removed from, means by-which one valve may be opened orselectionsof a plurality of the valves separately opened for mixing theflow from the conduits, the said means comprising a. handle and leversupported upon a ball and socket which may be-tilted' in one of severaldirections and ac-- tuating connections between the handle and thevalves to select the desired valve'or two valves for coincidentalopening, and a cap fitting over the top of the body and having atriangular opening therein to act as a guide for the lever to the twopositions for opening simultaneously two valves.

2. In a mixing and dispensing faucet the combination of a body, aplurality of conduits bearing liquids under pressure andleading into thebody, each conduit including a valve casing and a valve spring-closedagainst the pressure in the conduit, a nozzle cover at the lower end ofsaid body into-which the several 'conduitshave noz- See" zlesdischarging streams spaced from the inside of the nozzle cover, means bywhich one valve may be opened or selections of a plurality of the valvesseparately opened for mixing the flow from the conduits, the said meanscomprising a handle supported upon a ball and socket connection with thebody and a plural-lug rockable table, the handle of the table arrangedto be tilted to cause the one lug to operate one valve by a directforward pull on the handle or tilt to either right or left of center tocause two lugs to select the center valve and one or another of theremaining valves for opening, and a cap for the body provided with atriangular opening forming a guide for the lever handles movement toright or left.

3. In a mixing and dispensing faucet the combination of a body, aplurality of conduits leading into the body and including in eachconduit a valve casing and a spring closed valve, a nozzle cover at thelower end of said body through which the several conduits discharge, andmeans by which one valve may be opened or selections of a plurality ofthe valves separately opened for mixing the flow from the conduits, thesaid means comprising a handle and lever which may be tilted in one ofseveral directions and actuating connections between the handle and thevalves to select the desired valve 01' valves for opening, and means forguiding the handle in each tilting movement to one side or the other,comprising a cap with a triangular opening at the top through which thehandle stem projects.

4. In a mixing and dispensing faucet the combination of a body, aplurality of pressure liquid conduits leading into the body andincluding in each conduit a valve casing and a spring closed valve, anozzle at the lower end of said body into which the several conduitsdischarge without the liquid ordinarily contacting the inside of thenozzle, means by which valves may be opened for mixing the flow from theconduits, the said means comprising a handle and rotatable tablesupported by a ball and socket joint which may be tilted in one ofseveral directions and lugs on the bottom of the table for punching thedesired valve or two valves for coincidental opening, means for guidingthe handle in each tilting movement to one side or the other, and aspring for returning the table and handle to central position.

5. In a mixing and dispensing faucet, a body,

a plurality of conduits leading through and below the body ct'orcarrying syrups under pressure, the portion of the conduit below thebody being a capillary tube, a conduit through the body and dischargingbeyond the body and arranged to carry carbonated water, the said conduitends being grouped together in the middle of the later mentioned nozzlecover to discharge free ofthe walls of said cover, valve and valvecasings arranged in the conduits and the body, a nozzle on the lower endof the body surrounding the ends of the conduits, and means forselectively operating the soda water valve and a selected syrup conduitvalve, said means comprising a handle and a table supported tiltably androtatably by a universal joint and provided on the bottom with lugs forselectively pushing open the soda valve or the soda water valve with oneof the syrup conduit valves when the handle and table are rotated to theright or left and tilted.

6. In a mixing and dispensing faucet, a body, a plurality of conduitsleading through and below the body for carrying syrups under pressure,the portion of the conduit below the body being in a capillary tube, aconduit through the body and discharging beyond the body and arranged tocarry carbonated water, valve and valve casings arranged in the conduitsand the body, a nozzle cover on the lower end of the body surroundingthe ends of the conduits, and means for selectively operating the sodawater valve or the soda water valve and a selected syrup conduit valve,said means comprising a rotatable and tilta'ble handle and a tableprovided with contacting means [for selectively operating the soda valveor the soda water valve with one of the syrup conduit valves, and springmeans for normally centering the tiltable table and the handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 850,916 Fitzgibbon Apr. 23, 1907 963,221 Haynes July 5, 19101,208,709 La Rue Dec. 12:, 1916 1,516,190 Holderle Nov. 18, 19241,600,170 Henderson Sept. 14, 1926 1,831,342 Buskard Nov. 10, 19312,075,917 Vorech Apr. 6, 1937 2,371,432 Di Pietro Mar. 13, 1945

